The Beheading Game
Will be published approx. on 26. March 2026
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-1-78730-568-7 (ISBN)
Description
'Original, audacious. . . A must-read for lovers of history, magic and revenge' Erin Kelly
Disgraced. Beheaded. And out for revenge . . .
When Anne Boleyn wakes up after her execution she finds she is not yet ready for death. She has unfinished business with the king who had her murdered and is determined to secure the future of her daughter, Elizabeth. Discarded by Henry for failing to produce a male heir, reviled by the court for being too smart for her own good and beheaded on trumped-up charges, Anne has one last chance to turn her fate around. She escapes the tower, sews her head back on, and sets out on a quest for vengeance.
But Anne's path to justice will not run smoothly as she encounters the dangers of London and the countryside, and rumours start to swirl about sightings of her ghost. Luckily for her, she will find help from a chance meeting with fenlander Alice, who offers her the possibility of a different future.
The Beheading Game takes you into the heart and mind of one of the most talked-about women of all time and finally gives her the chance to tell her side of the story.
'Magic, romance, revenge, and an utterly irresistible heroine - this book is an instant classic' Lev Grossman, author of The Bright Sword
'Fabulous! A marvelously inventive and mythic reworking of the story of Anne Boleyn. I loved it' Kelly Link, author of The Book of Love
Disgraced. Beheaded. And out for revenge . . .
When Anne Boleyn wakes up after her execution she finds she is not yet ready for death. She has unfinished business with the king who had her murdered and is determined to secure the future of her daughter, Elizabeth. Discarded by Henry for failing to produce a male heir, reviled by the court for being too smart for her own good and beheaded on trumped-up charges, Anne has one last chance to turn her fate around. She escapes the tower, sews her head back on, and sets out on a quest for vengeance.
But Anne's path to justice will not run smoothly as she encounters the dangers of London and the countryside, and rumours start to swirl about sightings of her ghost. Luckily for her, she will find help from a chance meeting with fenlander Alice, who offers her the possibility of a different future.
The Beheading Game takes you into the heart and mind of one of the most talked-about women of all time and finally gives her the chance to tell her side of the story.
'Magic, romance, revenge, and an utterly irresistible heroine - this book is an instant classic' Lev Grossman, author of The Bright Sword
'Fabulous! A marvelously inventive and mythic reworking of the story of Anne Boleyn. I loved it' Kelly Link, author of The Book of Love
Reviews / Votes
An original, audacious twist on a tale we all think we know. A must-read for lovers of history, magic and revenge -- Erin Kelly, the Sunday Times bestselling author of THE POISON TREE Magic, romance, revenge, and an utterly irresistible heroine - this book is an instant classic -- Lev Grossman, author of BRIGHT SWORD Fabulous! A marvelously inventive and mythic reworking of the story of Anne Boleyn. I loved it. -- Kelly Link, author of THE BOOK OF LOVEMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Dimensions
Height: 237 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
532 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78730-568-7 (9781787305687)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/2026
Vintage Digital
€12.99
Available for download
Person
Rebecca Lehmann is an award-winning poet and essayist. She has an MFA in poetry from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she was a Maytag Fellow. She is the author of three collections of poetry: Between the Crackups; Ringer, winner of the AWP Donald Hall Prize (selected by Ross Gay); and The Sweating Sickness. Her writing has appeared in American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, NPR's The Slowdown, and the Academy of American Poets' Poem-a-Day. She lives in Indiana with her family, where she is an associate professor of English and Gender and Women's Studies at Saint Mary's College.